Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Garden plans for spring 2012

I am contemplating downsizing our garden next year. I never thought that I would say it. I have always liked having a fairly large garden...large to some, not so much in comparison to others. It has just gotten to be too much, and I am not able to do it justice by harvesting at the right times, patrolling for bugs, and weeding...oh, the weeding! I think gardening was easier when my kids were smaller. I have one daughter that would prefer torture than to play in the dirt and one that enjoys being in the garden with us, but not the work that it requires.
This has left me wondering that if I scale back, perhaps I can regain control and pride in my garden again. I start in the spring with such huge dreams. After a long winter, the look of a freshly planted garden is inspiring. Enter Illinois' humid summers and the novelty soon wears off. This summer I spent more time away from home and on the road that the garden couldn't have gotten a fair shake had I tried. My work schedule has changed which affords me more time at home, so perhaps I will have more time before work and during lunch. Should I give it one more year? I don't know.
Home gardening has so many benefits:

The relaxation of being in the garden is a biggie.

I love the peace and quiet, nature's sounds, and playing in the dirt.

The food is fresh and pesticide free....another huge plus in my book. Saving money by growing your own food.

I put myself on a waiting list for a local CSA just in case I go through with this. I am one of those people that sees something I like and thinks, "Oh, I could make that." but do I? Generally not. It is my cheapskate brain's way of saying don't buy. Will I be happy purchasing food that I could be growing myself? I would likely receive vegetables that I don't grow in my own garden which would be interesting and fun. Hmmm...
To top it all off, I received my first seed catalog of the year already. Do I dare to dream? Stay tuned...

5 comments:

Interesting. My husband and I are having exactly the opposite thoughts. To keep our garden productive this year in spite of the scorching Tennessee sun, we plan to employ various shading techniques. We also hope to find a reasonable source of mulch to cut down on both water and weeding needs.

These are familiar thoughts to me as I did the same thing last winter. : ) I wasn't going to grow as many veggies. I planned to lay down a thick layer of straw and plant easy annual flowers, to give some of my veggie beds a break for the season. As it turned out, that didn't happen (although still used straw for weeds). Seed catalogs arrived, and the excitement began. I did plant less types of veggies though... grew more storing vegetables that we use a lot of, like potatoes and onions, and tomatoes for canning.

Instead I let a few flower beds go. And my strawberry bed will no longer be for strawberries. The weeds just intertwined with them too much and got out of control.

Hey, I wandered over here from Granny's blog. . . I'll help cheer you through another year if you'll partner with me. I'm overwhelmed and under-weeded. Still, I think it's important to get out there and do. Big family, big food bills, etc. It just got away from me for a year and a half, but it's time. So what do you think?

Stefaneener, Thanks for coming over for a peek from Granny's site. That sounds like a great idea! I agree that there are too many good reasons to continue to garden. I cannot see myself ever totally giving up...it is too ingrained in my blood. I am looking forward to checking out your site as well!

I wandered over from my own blog. I'm going in the opposite direction. I plan on planting more veggies than I did last season. I'm in South Florida so my growing season is much different than the rest of the US. Happy New Year!